Over the past weekend, we saw Rafael Nadal and Sloane Stephens snap up the available titles in the Singles Category of the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open. For those who had been following the sport all year long, these wins wouldn’t have come as a surprise to them.
Okay, maybe Sloane Stephens winning the title and South Africa’s Kevin Anderson making it to the final was surprising. But from the Australian Open to the French Open, Wimbledon and the one in the Big Apple, tennis has served up too many surprises, thereby making 2017 one to remember for all fans of the sport – even the non-initiates too.
The surprise exits, Manic Monday, the Venus revelation, the quirky injuries and Serena Williams becoming a mother, all made the tennis year one that cannot be forgotten in a hurry. Roger Federer went on to become a Wimbledon champion without dropping a single set, joining Bjorn Borg as the only men in the Open era to win Wimbledon without losing a set.
Then there was Maria Sharapova’s win over Simona Halep on her return to Grand Slam action in New York and Garbine Muguruza displaced Karolina Piskova in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings to become world No. 1.
It’s been a super year of tennis, although names like Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and the likes will disagree. After having to deal with several injuries that prevented them from either performing well or even participating at all, they’ll be looking forward to the tournaments in the 2018 calendar year.
The same can be said of Serena Williams whom most tennis fans have missed. The whole world will be hoping to see her play in the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open. While we wait for the New Year and her events to come around, what’s next for tennis fans this year?
There are still a number of tennis tournaments set to take place this year. But because they’re not majors, the big names in the world of tennis may be selective about which of the tournaments to compete in. Notwithstanding, these are some of the tourneys you can look forward to this year:
- China Open (30 Sept. – Oct. 08)
- Shanghai Rolex Masters (Oct. 08 – Oct. 15)
- European Open (Oct. 16 – Oc. 22)
- BNP Paribas WTA Finals (22 Oct. – 29 Oct)
- BNP Paribas Masters (Oct. 30 – Nov. 05)
- Barclay’s ATP World Tour Finals ( Nov. 12 – Nov. 19)
That’s just six out of the many tennis tournaments you can look forward to from now till the end of the year.
No doubt, it has been an amazing year for tennis fans around the world. But with the tournaments listed above, the action is far from over this year. So, anticipate even more drama before the year runs out.
Speaking of drama, which of the Grand Slams this year was the most dramatic one for you? Share your opinion with us by leaving us a comment. Let’s talk tennis!
Tags: tennis
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